Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Hitler's Pawn: The Margaret Lambert Story

When my group was assigned "mass entertainment" for our Tin Drum history project, I immediately thought of an HBO documentary I had watched a few years ago- Hitler's Pawn: The Margaret Lambert Story. Before I watched this documentary, I had no idea of the events surrounding the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Any thought of the 1936 Olympics had never once crossed my mind. The documentary covered the life of Margaret Lambert, who, as I mentioned yesterday, was a young German Jew studying in London a couple of years prior to the Games. She was used by the Nazi's to end the boycott of the U.S., Great Britain, and other nations, who threatened not to attended the Games in Berlin. She was undoubtedly their "pawn." The two years leading up to the 1936 Games for Lambert were filled with fear and anger, and WW2 had not even begun.
Margaret no doubt fell victim to the severe disillusionment caused by the Nazi party that so many people in Germany and around Europe fell victim to. We see this disillusionment throughout The Tin Drum. Margaret's story is a perfect example of the Nazi's manipulation and control of their people, as well as the suffocating atmosphere, which is frequently visible in The Tin Drum, they created during their reign.

By the way, I seriously recommend this documentary.

1 comment:

Ray said...

Would you happen to know where I can view this again? I also saw this when it first came out and have been searching for a video. The Syracuse, NY library supposedly has a copy but would not transfer it to mine. Thanx very much! ~Ray